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Doug Collins tells Philadelphia 76ers he's out as coach

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two people with knowledge of the situation tell The Associated Press that Doug Collins will not return next season as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. The people spoke to The AP on

This was not the season Collins expected. In August, the Sixers traded swingman Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets in the multi-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sixers acquired center Andrew Bynum from the Lakers and also gave up first-round pick Maurice Harkless and promising second-year center Nik Vucevic.

At the London Olympics where Collins served as a basketball analyst for NBC, he told USA TODAY Sports of the trade: "We wanted to get bigger, we wanted to get better shooting and that's what we did in the offseason."

However, lingering knee issues plagued Bynum from the start and he never played a minute for the Sixers this season. It turned out to be risky trade. Bynum becomes a free agent in July, and there's no guarantee he will re-sign with the Sixers.

Collins, 61, admitted becoming more mellow as he aged, looking at life through the eyes of his grandchildren. His family might also be a determining factor in his decision. His son, Chris, recently accepted the head coaching job at Northwestern after assisting Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Collins' decision came hours after his agent, John Langel, told reporters Collins would return for a fourth season.

"He's here for another year, at least," Langel said.

It didn't even last hours. Yahoo Sports first reported Collins would leave after the Sixers beat the Cavaliers.